The latter.

Any sane person knew that the game was going to be garbo, but now I'm also seeing mentions of the Paradox Launcher that comes with it...

To GOG staff: if you ever decide to release some of the long awaited games with their respective shitty launchers, like GTAIV, for once, - either get rid of it, or just don't bother releasing it. Nobody comes here expecting to deal with such disgrace.

Take a hint.

The launcher is disgusting and it feels almost same such as a Steam version (even with almost the same files inside). Although there is a way in order to avoid it:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/release_vampire_the_masquerader_bloodlines_2_08eac/post78

There is another point i feel critical about but that is a very personal one and it actually was caused by the previous developers already... so it is not a thing "Chinese Room" was inventing.

°°°°°°The game was set entirely at night, as a tested day-night cycle with sunlight hazards proved unfun. Hardsuit Labs also dropped third-person elements, opting for a first-person-only system inspired by the responsive combat in the action-adventure game Dishonored (2012).°°°°°°°

3. Person is important for me but it is pretty "modern" not to use it at all; even Cyberpunk was not using it.

Another point i for sure do not feel good about is the lack of almost any RPG element. The game got less RPG than any other game of this series; in fact the new game is rather a action adventure and nothing else.

The graphic is okay... not outstanding, simply okay... by todays standards. It is "barely" a AA game... could even be rather like A+... a bit above Indie quality in technical aspects. A game like "Control" is actually technically already more cutting edge and as well "Dishonored".

The game got some problematic response at the main menu, so always have some delay there, and unnecessary telemetry that can be turned off it seems.

Actually i did not plan on buying new games until Christmas, yet i always break my promise... i should keep my promise, better for me and my money bag. In my mind, this game is worth half the current price asked, not more. At least for the high priced regions, Lower priced regions may have more realistic prices able to reflect the value.

They surely need to make much more work on this game in order to still being able to make it a refined product and a true game of this series... if they are not polishing it the hard way... it would get my thumb down (so far).

All modern Paradox games include a launcher. There's really nothing to worry about, and it doesn’t make the game subject to DRM. I’m not sure why people are so concerned, since every new game release by them on GOG also has a launcher. I know Stellaris, EU4 and CK2 have them.

You need to crack Rockstar launcher to play the game without it. The Paradox launcher is not needed to play the game.

There is likely a licensing agreement for them to include luncher bundle in for selling Paradox games.

I’m just curious, but will I still receive Reckoning of New York from the Blood Moon Edition I preordered back in March of 2019? It hasn’t appeared in my library so not sure if “legacy” purchases count.

Regardless, crazy it’s here over 6 1/2 years later!

People come here (in part) expecting DRM-free games. As long as a given launcher isn't functioning as DRM (e.g., you have to download the launcher first, then download and install your purchased game through said launcher, and/or the installed game won't function properly without the launcher being present), it is at most a minor annoyance, and it's better to have the game here, and let people decide whether they want to give the dev/pub money for a game with an included dev/pub launcher based on reviews, etc. It doesn't sound like this launcher is functioning as DRM.

On the F.E.A.R. scale, assuming VtMB is F.E.A.R., is this more like 2, 3, or worse?

Imagine that someone made a F.E.A.R. game that only takes place on a psychologists couch and discusses actual fears. That's apparently how far from home the concept is.

Oh, but it does star a distant cousin of the protagonist.

Hmm... could probably be it...

In any case - according to Syphon, EVERY Paradox title comes bundled with a launcher.
Would be interesting to know how many people don't read up on threads or don't use custom install methods i.e. don't know that the launcher can be bypassed and refund the game because of it.

If the game is on GOG it should work without the launcher. You just need to go to the game's library and start the game directly from the EXE. This has been the case for all games with launchers on GOG that i've bought so far. The launchers should be optional. I am yet to buy VTMB 2 so i don't know if Paradox fucked up the launcher this time.

The 2.5/Mixed ratings the game is getting is the best it could have hoped for.

They just couldn't help but sabotage themselves by forcing the Bloodlines keyword in the title, despite the game having little to do with the original. Simply naming it something else could have brought it into the positive territory.

I like the game well enough, but the performance is horrible... asking for a refund and will look at the game again further down the line

No, the stuff is available now... they was fixing it 1 day after.

See pictures... the first is the Jukebox, the launch-DLC, in the background the Stop-sign, part of the first DLC and the Ankaran Sarcophagus as well part of the first DLC. if someone ask me, this DLC should be a standard content and was only implemented in order to boost the price. It was close to no work if we take into account its over 10 coins asked for... i would say 3 coins was the dev cost. Although this is a "standard behavior" as well used on countless other games nowadays. Those who can afford it will get a complete game and the others will have to deal with a "broken game"; kind of a 2 class society.

The game basically got some sort of "trial" in which some mechanics are explained while... mostly sneaking... to the top of the roof where the headquarter is located.

Of course the other DLCs are not released yet, only the first one and the preorder.

In general, this is a partial-sneak action adventure with rather few RPG elements (can change clothes and looks). A partial open world with pretty fixed rules (have to do quests with a pretty fixed approach) and with different clans which got different abilities. Dependable on clan it could give new gameplay-elements which can make it worth it having several playthrough.

The engine seems to be made with DLSS2+ or FSR3,1+ in mind, else the graphic will be corrupt with artifacts. It seems to be totally designed with "scaling or fake frames" in mind, although my GPU can not handle frame generation, only quality based DLSS (scaling technologies). It is sufficient as this game is not demanding on the GPU, unless DLAA is used (the most demanding graphic mode), yet the difference in graphic quality might barely become noticed, so it may not be worth it.

At least a RTX 2000 is required for DLSS2+, yet RTX 3000 recommended (at least) else it lacks the performance for any quality settings. On AMD probably RX 6000 at least (RDNA2). I would not play it with a "even older graphic card" else the graphic might have serious issues, it simply was not designed for.

It is not a "bad game"; do not get me wrong... it surely is a "adequate game" for lovers of such games. It simply, currently, is not the "uber Vampire game" many fans might be asking for... instead a rather "average modern game" of its class by modern standards and with a pretty high price tag. Still a good game in general, for those who enjoy it.